Automatic analysis device

ABSTRACT

An automatic analysis device is provided with: a sample disk for holding a sample container that accommodates a sample; a reagent disk for holding a reagent container that accommodates a reagent; at least two different measuring units that respectively perform different types of analyses; a control part that controls the measuring units; and a display part that displays: a work flow area in which the flow of operation of the two or more measuring units is displayed; and an overview area in which the usable or unusable states of the respective measuring units are displayed, wherein the overview area has a unit necessity-of-use selection part that can select whether using each of the measuring units is necessary, and the control part controls the display part so as to change the display of the work flow area on the basis of the information set in the unit necessity-of-use selection part.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic analysis device thatanalyzes an amount of a component contained in a sample such as blood orurine, and particularly to an automatic analysis device capable ofmeasuring a biochemical analysis item and a blood coagulation time item.

BACKGROUND ART

Sample tests, in which samples such as blood and urine collected from apatient are handled, are classified into a plurality of test fields suchas a biochemical test, an immunological test, and a blood coagulationtest, and these test results are combined to check a diagnosis or atherapeutic effect.

For example, tests that analyze components such as blood and urineinclude the biochemical test that reacts a reagent with a sample tomeasure components such as a sugar, a lipid, a protein, and an enzyme,and include the immunological test that measures an antibody producedwhen a bacterium or a virus enters a body, a hormone, a tumor marker andthe like by an antigen-antibody reaction. Generally, in the biochemicaltest, a measurement is performed using a biochemical automatic analysisdevice that mixes the sample with the reagent to measure a change incolor caused by a chemical reaction, by transmitted light, and in theimmunological test, a measurement is performed using an immunologicaltest device that causes an antigen antibody reaction to occur by addingan antibody in which a light emitting body is bound to an antigencontained in a sample, and that measures a light emission amount by thebound antibody after a non-bound antibody is washed. However, in recentyears, due to development of measuring instruments and measuringreagents, even in the biochemical automatic analysis device, it ispossible to use measurement methods such as an immunonephelometry methodor a latex agglutination method to perform measurement with highsensitivity by the transmitted light or scattered light, and it ispossible to measure a part of the tumor markers, the hormones, and thelike, so that a single device can deal with the case that a test itemrequires various devices according to the related art, and differencebetween the two cases is becoming smaller.

The blood coagulation test includes a test for measuring a controlfactor of a blood coagulation reaction such as ATIII, an enzyme thatworks in a stage of fibrinolysis such as PIC, and a byproduct producedby a fibrinolysis reaction such as D dimer, FDP, and the like by achange in absorbance, and includes a test for measuring bloodcoagulation time (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a hemostaticfunction test, or blood coagulation time measurement or the like) whichis a test of hemostatic functions of PT, APTT, fibrinogen and the like.The test of the hemostatic functions activates a blood coagulationfactor contained in the sample, advances the blood coagulation reactionand measures deposited fibrin. In recent years, a blood coagulation testdevice has also appeared which corresponds to both the absorbancemeasurement and the blood coagulation time measurement so as to becapable of covering these blood coagulation test items.

PTL 1 relates to a device in which a plurality of measuring units forperforming tests having different measuring principles such as abiochemical test, an immunological test, and a hemostatic function testare integrated into one device, and discloses that a space is saved bysharing a part of components in the device, such as a reagent supplyunit and a reagent transport unit.

PTL 2 describes a technique. That is, in an automatic analysis system inwhich a plurality of analysis units are connected via a transport line,analysis units that require preparation operations are distinguished anddisplayed by color coding and the like while operations required for anoperator are displayed on a screen by reflecting a state of a device atthat time, so that even if being unfamiliar with an operation of thedevice, the operator can perform the preparation operations withouterror on the analysis units that require the preparation operations.

PRIOR ART LITERATURE Patent Literature

PTL 1: WO 2006/107016

PTL 2: JP-A-2004-28932

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

When a plurality of types of analyses having different measuring itemsare measured by a single device or system, a variety of preparationssuch as various maintenance, replacement of reagents and consumables,calibration, quality control and the like are required in each deviceand measuring unit, so that the work is complicated and time-consuming.In particular, in a device in which a plurality of functions areintegrated, there are many cases where an operator unfamiliar with thedevice uses the device at night, and when these preparations areperformed, simplification of the work is required. For example, when oneof the measuring units cannot be used for some reason, it is required toavoid useless work as much as possible.

However, in any of the above-described PTL 1 and PTL 2, no considerationis given to efficiency of the work in a state where one of the measuringunits cannot be used. For this reason, as in PTL 1, in the analysisdevice where reagents and samples are commonly managed by one system,and are respectively assigned to a plurality of different analysis unitsaccording to analysis items, in a case where the analysis units thatrequire the preparation operations are distinguished and displayed bycolor coding or the like as in PTL 2, even when one of the analysisunits is not used for some reason, such a fact is not reflected.Therefore, unnecessary preparations of reagents and the like may bepromoted, and as a result, useless work may occur.

Solution to Problem

As an aspect for solving the above problems, there is provided anautomatic analysis device which includes a sample disk configured tohold a sample container that is configured to accommodate a sample, areagent disk configured to hold a reagent container that is configuredto accommodate a reagent, at least two different measuring unitsconfigured to respectively perform different types of analyses, acontrol part configured to control the measuring units, and a displaypart configured to display a work flow area in which a flow of operationof the two or more measuring units is displayed, and an overview area inwhich usable or unusable states of the respective measuring units aredisplayed. The overview area includes a unit necessity-of-use selectionpart that allows selecting of necessity-of-use of each of the measuringunits, and the control part is configured to control the display part tochange a display of the work flow area on the basis of information setin the unit necessity-of-use selection part.

Advantageous Effect

According to the above aspect, in an composite automatic analysis devicethat includes a plurality of analysis units each carrying a plurality offunctions, information is provided to an operator by reflecting theinformation on a display so as not to recommend advance preparationsrelated to an unused analysis unit while necessity-of-use for eachanalysis unit can be selected, so that a time loss due to theunnecessary preparations can be eliminated. Here, preparationinformation includes preparations of reagents, calibration, controlmeasurement, maintenance and the like.

Unintentional preparations of the reagents or the like are avoided, sothat the reagents cannot be opened unintentionally, and deterioration ofthe reagents due to evaporation or a change in pH can be prevented.Further, the calibration, the control measurement and the maintenanceare also performed at a timing suitable for performing measurement whileunnecessary execution is prevented, so that analysis can be performedunder more appropriate conditions, which contributes to obtaining highlyaccurate and reliable analysis results.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a compositeautomatic analysis device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing an example of a system overview screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2(b) is a diagram showing an example of a system overview screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2(c) is a diagram showing an example of a system overview screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3(a) is a diagram showing an example of a maintenance screen of theautomatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing an example of a maintenance screen of theautomatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display setting screenduring unit masking of the automatic analysis device according to thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a maintenance cycle settingscreen of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing an example of a reagent disk overviewscreen of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 6(b) is a diagram showing an example of a reagent disk overviewscreen of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a reagent replacementinformation printing screen of the automatic analysis device accordingto the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a calibration and QC screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a calibration recommendationscreen of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment for implementing the invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Throughout the description below, components having the same functionsin the respective drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals,and the description thereof may be omitted.

<Overall Configuration of Device>

FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of a composite automatic analysisdevice according to an embodiment. Here, an example of the compositeautomatic analysis device that performs a biochemical analysis and ablood coagulation analysis (blood coagulation fibrinolysis marker, andblood coagulation time measurement) will be described as an embodimentof the automatic analysis device. In the present example, the automaticanalysis device includes an absorption photometer and a light-scatteringphotometer that perform the biochemical analysis and the bloodcoagulation fibrinolysis marker analysis, the light-scatteringphotometer that performs blood coagulation time measurement, and an ISEunit that performs an electrolyte analysis.

More specifically, as shown in this figure, an automatic analysis device1 mainly includes a reaction disk 10, a sample disk 20, a first reagentdisk 30-1, a second reagent disk 30-2, and an absorption photometer 40,a light-scattering photometer 45, a blood coagulation time measuringunit 50, an ISE unit 60, a computer 70 and the like.

The reaction disk 10 serving as a reaction container holding unit is adisk-shaped unit intermittently rotatable in a left-right direction.Many reaction cells 11 formed of a translucent material can be disposedalong a circumferential direction on the reaction disk 10. The reactioncells 11 are maintained at a predetermined temperature (for example, 37°C.) by a thermostatic tank 12.

Many sample containers 21 that accommodate biological samples, such asblood and urine, can be respectively disposed along circumferentialdirections of a circle on an inner side and a circle on an outer side inthe example of the configuration shown in the figure on the sample disk20 serving as a sample container holding unit.

A sample dispensing mechanism 22 is disposed in a vicinity of the sampledisk 20. The sample dispensing mechanism 22 suctions a predeterminedamount of sample from a sample container 21 which is located at adispensing (suctioning) position on the sample disk 20, and dischargesthe sample into a reaction cell 11 which is at a dispensing (suctioning)position 10 a on the reaction disk 10.

On the first reagent disk 30-1 and the second reagent disk 30-2 thatserve as reagent container holding units, a plurality of first reagentbottles 31-1 and second reagent bottles 31-2, which are attached withlabels indicating reagent identification information, are respectivelydisposed along circumferential directions of the first reagent disk 30-1and the second reagent disk 30-2. The reagent identification informationincludes a barcode, an RFID and the like, and a case where the barcodeis used will be described as an example here. Reagent solutionscorresponding to analysis items to be analyzed by the automatic analysisdevice 1 are accommodated in the first reagent bottles 31-1 and thesecond reagent bottles 31-2.

A first reagent barcode reading device 32-1 and a second reagent barcodereading device 32-2 read reagent barcodes attached to outer walls of thefirst reagent bottles 31-1 and the second reagent bottles 31-2 duringreagent registration. The read reagent information is registered in amemory 77 together with position information of the first reagent disk30-1 and the second reagent disk 30-2. A first reagent dispensingmechanism 33-1 and a second reagent dispensing mechanism 33-2 aredisposed in the vicinities of the first reagent disk 30-1 and the secondreagent disk 30-2, respectively. During reagent dispensing, by pipettenozzles included in such reagent dispensing mechanisms, reagents aresuctioned from the first reagent bottle 31-1 and the second reagentbottle 31-2, which correspond to test items and respectively located ata dispensing (suctioning) position 30-1 a on the first reagent disk 30-1and at a dispensing (suctioning) position 30-2 a on the second reagentdisk 30-2, and are discharged into the corresponding reaction cells 11respectively located at dispensing (discharging) positions 10 b and 10 con the reaction disk 10. The reaction disk 10 is stored in thethermostatic tank 12 and maintained at a constant temperature of about37° C.

Here, the absorption photometer 40 is disposed on an outercircumferential side of the reaction disk 10. Light, which is emittedfrom a light source 41 (for the absorption photometer) disposed in avicinity of a central portion on an inner circumferential side of thereaction disk 10, passes through the reaction cell 11 and is measured bythe absorption photometer 40, so that measurement of a reaction solutionis performed. As described above, a measuring unit including theabsorption photometer 40 and the light source 41 (for the absorptionphotometer), which are disposed to face each other with the reactiondisk 10 interposed therebetween, is set as a first measuring unit.

The light-scattering photometer 45 is also disposed on the outercircumferential side of the reaction disk 10. Light, which is emittedfrom a light source 46 (for the light-scattering photometer) disposed inthe vicinity of the central portion on the inner circumferential side ofthe reaction disk 10, is scattered via the reaction cell 11 and ismeasured by the light-scattering photometer 45, so that measurement ofthe reaction solution is performed. As described above, a measuring unitincluding the light-scattering photometer 45 and the light source 46(for the light-scattering photometer), which are disposed to face eachother with the reaction disk 10 interposed therebetween, is set as asecond measuring unit.

Each reaction cell 11, which accommodates the reaction solution that isa mixture of the sample and the reagent, is photometrically measuredevery time when the reaction cell 11 crosses in front of the absorptionphotometer 40 and light-scattering photometer 45 during rotation of thereaction disk 10. Analog signals of the transmitted light and thescattered light that are measured for each sample are input to A/D(analog/digital) converters 72 and 73. An inside of a used reaction cell11 is cleaned by a reaction cell washing mechanism 34 disposed in avicinity of the reaction disk 10 to allow repeated use.

Next, a control system and a signal processing system in the automaticanalysis device 1 of FIG. 1 will be briefly described. The computer 70is connected to A/D converters 72 to 75 and a control computer 76 via aninterface 71. The computer 70 transmits a signal serving as a command toa control computer 76 of each mechanism, and controls operation of eachmechanism such as the sample dispensing mechanism 22, and reagentdispensing mechanism reagents 33-1 and 33-2. Photometric valuesconverted into digital signals by the A/D converters 72 to 75 are inputinto the computer 70.

The memory 77, which is a storage device, is connected to the interface71, and stores information such as the reagent identificationinformation, sample identification information, analysis parameters,contents requested by analysis items, calibration results, and analysisresults.

The figure illustrates that the control computer 76 is connected to eachcomponent and controls the entire automatic analysis device, but thecontrol computer 76 can also be configured to include a control partthat can independently control each component.

Next, an item to be measured by the absorption photometer 40 of theautomatic analysis device 1 of FIG. 1 is set as a first measuring item,an item to be measured by the light-scattering photometer 45 is set as asecond measuring item, and analysis operation during analyses of thefirst measuring item and the second analysis item will be described.Analysis parameters related to items that can be analyzed by theautomatic analysis device 1 are input by an operator in advance via anoperation screen 68, and are stored in a memory 67. In order to analyzea test item requested and instructed for each sample, the sampledispensing mechanism 22 dispenses a predetermined amount of sample fromthe sample container 21 to the reaction cell 11 at the dispensingposition 10 a according to the analysis parameters.

The reaction cell 11 to which the sample is dispensed is transferred byrotation of the reaction disk 10 and stopped at the dispensing (reagentreceiving) position 10 b or 10 c. The first reagent dispensing mechanism33-1 and the second reagent dispensing mechanism 33-2 dispense apredetermined amount of reagent solutions into the reaction cells 11according to the analysis parameters of corresponding test items. Here,as for a dispensing order between the sample and the reagent, thereagent may be dispensed prior to the sample as opposed to the exampledescribed above.

When crossing photometric positions, the reaction cell 11 isphotometrically measured by the absorption photometer 40 and thelight-scattering photometer 45, and voltage changes obtained by changesin light intensities are digitally converted by the A/D converter (forthe absorption photometer) 72 and the A/D converter (for thelight-scattering photometer) 73. Thereafter, converted data is inputinto the computer 70 via the interface 71. According to theconfiguration using such a turntable reaction disk 10, the samples canbe dispensed continuously by a rotation motion of the disk, so that theprocessing capability can be high.

Next, the computer 70 calculates concentration data based on numericaldata converted into signal values as described above and calibrationcurve data measured and stored in advance by an analysis methodspecified for each test item, and outputs the calculated concentrationdata to the operation screen 78.

The above-described calculation of the concentration data may beperformed by the control computer 76 instead of the computer 70.

Next, an item to be measured by a coagulation time unit of the automaticanalysis device 1 of FIG. 1 is set as a third measuring item, andanalysis operation during an analysis of the third measuring item willbe described. Here, a measuring unit configured with a coagulation timedetection unit 50 is set as a third measuring unit. Reaction containers(disposable reaction containers) 52 accommodated in a reaction containeraccommodation unit 53 are transferred to a sample dispensing station 54by a reaction container transfer mechanism 55. The sample dispensingmechanism 22 suctions the sample from the sample container 21 anddispenses the sample to the disposable reaction container 52 transferredto the sample dispensing station 54 as described above.

Next, the reaction container (the disposable reaction container) 52 towhich the sample is dispensed is transferred to the coagulation timedetection unit 50 by the reaction container transfer mechanism 55, and atemperature of the reaction container 52 is raised to 37° C. On theother hand, the first reagent dispensing mechanism 33-1 suctions thereagent cooled at the first reagent disk 30-1 from a first reagentbottle 32-1 corresponding to a test item, discharges the suctionedreagent into a corresponding empty reaction cell 11 disposed on thereaction disk 10, and a temperature of the reaction cell 11 is raised toabout 37° C. Here, the case where the reagent in the first reagentbottle 32-1 disposed on the first reagent disk 30-1 is used for ananalysis is described as an example, but depending on analysisconditions, the reagent in a second reagent bottle 32-2 disposed on thesecond reagent disk 30-2 can also be used for the third measuring item.

After a predetermined time, the reagent accommodated in the reactioncell 11 whose temperature is raised as described above is suctioned by areagent dispensing mechanism 56 with a reagent temperature-raisingfunction, and then the temperature in the mechanism is further raised(to, for example, 40° C.). Here, the reaction container (the disposablereaction container) 52 whose temperature is raised to 37° C. and thataccommodates the sample as described above is transferred by thereaction container transfer mechanism 55 to a measuring channel 51 inthe coagulation time detection unit 50 to be described below.Thereafter, the reagent dispensing mechanism 56 with the reagenttemperature-raising function discharges the temperature-raised reagentto the reaction container (the disposable reaction container) 52. Thereagent is discharged, thereby starting a blood coagulation reactionbetween the sample and the reagent in the reaction container (thedisposable reaction container) 52.

The coagulation time detection unit 50, which is the third measuringunit, includes a plurality of measuring channels 51 each configured witha light source and a light receiving unit that are not shown in thefigure. After the reagent is discharged as described above, the lightreceiving unit collects measured data based on transmitted light orscattered light at a predetermined short measuring time interval (forexample, 0.1 second). The collected measured data is converted by an A/Dconverter (for coagulation time unit) 74 into a digital form of avoltage change obtained by a change in a light intensity, and theconverted data is input into the computer 70 via the interface 71. Thecomputer 70 uses the numerical data converted in this manner to obtainblood coagulation time. Then, based on the obtained blood coagulationtime and on calibration curve data prepared and stored in advanceaccording to a test item, concentration data of a target test item isobtained, and the obtained concentration data is output to the operationscreen 78 of the computer 70. The used reaction container (thedisposable reaction container) 52 is transferred by the reactioncontainer transfer mechanism 55, and is discarded to a reactioncontainer discarding unit 57. Here, the above-described bloodcoagulation time and concentration data can also be calculated by thecontrol computer 76.

Next, an item to be measured by the ISE unit 60 of the automaticanalysis device 1 of FIG. 1 is set as a fourth measuring item, andanalysis operation during an analysis of the fourth measuring item willbe described. Here, a measuring unit configured with the ISE unit 60 isset as a fourth measuring unit. The sample dispensing mechanism 22dispenses a predetermined amount of sample into an ISE dilution tank 61.After a dilute solution is dispensed to the ISE dilution tank 61, thesample is measured when passing through an Na electrode 62, a Kelectrode 63, a Cl electrode 64 and a reference electrode 65 togetherwith an internal standard solution reagent, and measured data isconverted by the A/D converter (for the ISE unit) 75, and converted datais recorded as an electromotive force to the reference electrode 65.

Here, the control computer 76 of the automatic analysis device 1individually controls a temperature control substrate and a motorcontroller for each of the absorption photometer 40, thelight-scattering photometer 45, the coagulation time detection unit 50,and the ISE unit 60. Measured data is also respectively connected to andindependently controlled by the different A/D converters 72 to 75. Thatis, when any mechanism is not used, setting of not using a specific unitis selected to only cause a necessary unit to move.

Next, a flow of measuring during execution of a test using the automaticanalysis device 1 will be described. After turning on power of thedevice, the operator performs preparations necessary for an analysis ofthat day. During the preparations, the operator advances operation withreference to a system overview screen displayed on the operation screen78.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a system overview screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment, andis a screen displayed on the operation screen 78 of the automaticanalysis device in FIG. 1.

The system overview screen mainly includes a work flow display region201 and an overview display region 202.

The work flow display region 201 shows a flow of a series of requiredoperations including from preparations before measurement necessary forperforming a test to collection of results after measurement. The workflow display region 201 is mainly provided with a maintenance button203, a measured result saving and deletion button 204, a reagent andconsumable preparation button 205, a calibration and QC button 206, asample disk monitoring button 207, and a QC result accumulation button208, and the operator performs operation according to this order ofbuttons. Here, QC indicates quality control, and a control sample ismeasured, so that a result after calibration is checked to determinewhether there is a problem, or the calibration and QC button is used toregularly check whether there is a problem with a condition of thedevice or a condition of the reagents.

As shown in FIG. 2, information stored in the memory 77 such as anexecution state of maintenance, a remaining amount of currently loadedreagents, and execution states of calibration and measurement of thecontrol sample is reflected in the work flow display region 201 on theoperation screen 78 in FIG. 1. Here, on the operation screen 78, it ispossible to set in advance a maintenance cycle and a preparation levelof expiration date reagents and consumables in the calibration andmeasurement of the control sample. When a set value is reached (that is,for example, when an expiration date is closer than a set value, or whena preparation level of consumables is lower than a set value), states ofthe maintenance button 203, the reagent and consumable preparationbutton 205, and the calibration and QC button 206 are changed anddistinguished by colors or marks or the like, thereby informing theoperator of necessity of preparations.

The overview display region 202 includes a unit necessity-of-useselection area 209 and a use state display area 210. In the unitnecessity-of-use selection area 209, check boxes corresponding to unitsto be used are checked, thereby setting the corresponding units usable.FIG. 2(a) shows a state where check boxes of all units are valid(ticked), and all the units are usable. In FIG. 2(b), the ISE unit isnot checked, and the coagulation time unit, the absorption photometer,and the light-scattering photometer are checked. FIG. 2(b) indicatesthat setting of only not using the ISE unit (using all the units exceptthe ISE unit) is selected. In this manner, selecting setting of notusing a specific unit is referred to as unit masking. In the use statedisplay area 210, an unusable mark is added to the ISE unit by the unitmasking. Similarly, in the unit necessity-of-use selection area 209 inFIG. 2(c), the coagulation time unit is not checked, and the ISE unit,the absorption photometer, and the light-scattering photometer arechecked. That is, the coagulation time unit is in a masked state, and inthe use state display area 210 in this state, the coagulation time unitcan be easily recognized by methods such as adding a mark indicatingthat the coagulation time unit cannot be used and color coding.

Next, a function and a display color of each button in the work flowdisplay region 201 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

<Maintenance Button>

The maintenance button 203 manages time limit information of eachmaintenance item set in advance and elapsed time since last execution ofmaintenance, and is displayed in yellow (at a caution level) or red (ata warning level) to prompt the operator to perform the maintenance basedon these pieces of information. FIG. 3 shows an example of a maintenancescreen of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment. In FIG. 3(a), a mode 301 that displays all maintenance isset. At this time, ISE Prime, which is maintenance related to ISE, is ina state where time has passed since last execution thereof and themaintenance is required. In this case, an item of the ISE Prime of No. 7in a maintenance list is colored and a user is recommended to performmaintenance. At this time, for example, as described above withreference to FIG. 2(b), since the ISE unit is in a masked state and isnot used, it is not necessary to perform maintenance related to theunit. That is, if the maintenance button 203 of FIG. 2(b) is colored andmaintenance is recommended despite the state as described above, worksuch as preparations unnecessary for the operator may occur. Therefore,as shown in FIG. 3(b), a mode 302 that does not display recommendationof maintenance to be performed in a masked unit is selected, so that therecommendation is removed without coloring of the item of the ISE Primeof No. 7 in the maintenance list, to ensure that the user does notperform unnecessary maintenance. At this time, in the work flow displayregion 201 of FIG. 2(b), the maintenance button 203 is also not coloreddue to the item of the ISE prime. FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) show examples ofselecting by radio buttons, but other selection methods such asswitching by a tab, and selecting by a pull-tab can also be applied.Here, FIG. 4 shows an example of a display setting screen during theunit masking of the automatic analysis device according to the presentembodiment. As shown in the figure, it is also possible to set necessityof display information such as maintenance, calibration, and QCregarding the masked unit on a screen different from the maintenancescreen of FIG. 3 in advance. FIG. 4 shows the example of the screen forsetting the necessity of display for each item, but it is also possibleto set a screen for setting a uniform display format for all items so asto perform collective selection.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a setting screen of a maintenance cycle forthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment. Thesetting screen of the maintenance cycle mainly includes a maintenancelist 501, a maintenance name selection area 502, a cycle input area 503,and an attention level setting area 504. The operator sets an executioncycle suitable for each maintenance.

For example, a reaction cell replacement cycle in FIG. 5 is set inadvance to be once a month, and the attention level is set to bedisplayed in color or the like at a time point when 80% of a set numberof days has elapsed. After a time limit is set, setting is registered ifa registration button 505 is pressed, and contents of the registeredsetting are canceled if a cancel button 506 is pressed. That is, in thiscase, when 24 days have elapsed after replacement of the reaction cells,which is the time point when 80% of the set number of days has elapsed,and when one month has elapsed, which is a time point when the setnumber of days has been reached, display colors of the maintenancebutton 203 in FIG. 2 changes to yellow, red or the like, respectively. Amaintenance item for which a time limit is desired to be set can beselected from the maintenance list 501 shown in FIG. 5, and for theselected maintenance item, an expiration date can be set in themaintenance name selection area 502 in unit of a day, a week, or amonth. Further, an attention level for the set cycle can be set, forexample, in percentage (%) or the like in the attention level settingvalue field 504 of an elapsed time period.

<Reagent and Consumable Preparation Button>

At the reagent and consumable preparation button 205 shown in FIG. 2,based on a database of reagents and consumables that are currentlydisposed on the device, the reagent and consumable preparation button isidentified and displayed by a color or a mark when there is an analysisitem whose current remaining amount is 0. Similarly, for the attentionlevel set in advance, when there is an analysis item whose currentremaining amount is smaller than a remaining amount of the attentionlevel, the reagent and consumable preparation button 205 is identifiedand displayed by a color or a mark different from that of a warningdisplay. Since the number of measuring requests is usually different foreach item, it is desirable that the reagent attention level can be setindividually for each measuring item.

Here, FIG. 6 shows an example of reagent disk overview screen of theautomatic analysis device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6(a)shows a screen set to display all reagent information, and FIG. 6(b)shows a screen set so as not to display reagent information of a maskedunit. The reagent disk overview screen includes reagent informationdisplay parts 601-1 and 601-2 for analysis, a detergent informationdisplay part 602, a display switching area 603, and a reagentreplacement information printing button 604.

The reagent information display parts 601 for analysis are diagramsschematically showing the first reagent disk 30-1 and the second reagentdisk 30-2 in the automatic analysis device 1, and are distinguished bycolors, for example, a red color when a remaining amount in a reagentbottle is 0, and a yellow color if the remaining amount is less than orequal to an attention level set in advance, and by design patterns andthe like, so that a remaining amount loaded on the reagent disk can beeasily determined. The detergent information display part 602 indicatesdetergents used in a system, and states of the consumable informationdisplay part 602 are distinguished by display colors, such as a redcolor if a remaining amount is 0, and a yellow color if the remainingamount is less than or equal to a set value, and by design patterns andthe like, which is similar to those of the reagent information displayparts 601 for analysis.

Here, it is assumed that reagents used in the coagulation time unit aredisposed at positions 10 to 12 of 601-1 and 602-2. In this case, asshown in FIG. 6(a), if the display switching area 603 is set to displayall reagent information, information of all reagents loaded on thereagent disk is displayed. However, as described above with reference toFIG. 2(c), when the coagulation time unit is masked, analyses of thereagents at the positions 10 to 12 of 601-1 and 602-2 are not necessary,so that it is not necessary to prepare the reagents.

As in the related art, if reagents disposed on the reagent disk arecollectively managed even when the coagulation time unit is masked as inFIG. 2(c), information on all the reagents is still displayed, andunnecessary preparations are still recommended to the user. In contrast,in the present embodiment, a display is set on which information of aunit to be measured for each item is reflected, so that reagentinformation and a measuring unit can be managed in association with eachother. Here, methods for associating the reagent information withinformation of the measuring unit include associating an item code witheach measuring unit (the item code is linked to the reagentinformation), specifying a measuring unit for each item on an analysisparameter screen of an operation screen, and describing the measuringunit with a reagent barcode and the like.

For a reagent associated with a measuring unit, if a target measuringunit is usable, reagent replacement will be recommended. On the otherhand, when a specific measuring unit is unusable (in a maskedsituation), reagent replacement related to the masked measuring unit isnot recommended. For example, in the display switching area 603 in FIG.6(b), since reagents to be used by a masked unit are set so as not to bedisplayed, information on reagents to be measured by the coagulationtime unit is not displayed.

In this case, since the reagent and consumable preparation button 205 inFIG. 2(c) is not identified and displayed by being colored in red or thelike, the operator is not likely to perform unnecessary preparationwork, and can definitely perform necessary preparation work.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a reagent replacementinformation printing screen of the automatic analysis device accordingto the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, when reagentreplacement information is printed, necessity of printing reagents to beused by a masked unit can also be selected. In the present embodiment,the reagent replacement information printing screen can be displayed byclicking a reagent replacement information printing button 606 shown inFIG. 6, but the invention is not limited thereto.

<Calibration and QC Button>

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a calibration and QC screen ofthe automatic analysis device according to the present embodiment. Thecalibration and QC button 206 shown in FIG. 2 indicates an executionstate of calibration and a measurement state of control, and thecalibration and QC button 206 is clicked, thereby displaying the screenshown in the figure.

Regarding the calibration, when the calibration is not performed for thereagents disposed on the device, or when an expiration date of thecalibration has expired, or when control measurement fails or the like,it is necessary to perform the calibration or re-measure the controlbased on a reagent information database currently disposed on thedevice. Therefore, the calibration and QC button is identified anddisplayed by colors or the like in FIG. 2, so that it is possible torecommend the operator to perform the calibration or re-measure thecontrol. When the calibration is recommended, the calibration and QCbutton 206 is clicked, so that the screen of FIG. 8 is displayed, and arecommended item collective request button 801 is identified anddisplayed by, for example, being colored in yellow. When clicking the ofrecommended item collective request button 801 here, the operator caneasily request execution of items for which calibration is recommended.

Similarly, also regarding the control measurement, when an expirationdate of the control has expired or the like for the reagents disposed onthe device, there is a function of recommending the control measurementbased on the reagent information database currently disposed on thedevice. In this case, when the control measurement is recommended, thecalibration and QC button is also identified and displayed by colors orthe like in FIG. 2. When the QC is recommended, the calibration and QCbutton 206 is clicked, so that the screen of FIG. 8 is displayed, and arecommended item collective request button 802 is identified anddisplayed by, for example, being colored in yellow. When clicking therecommended item collective request button 802 here, the operator caneasily request execution of items for which control measurement isrecommended.

Here, as described above, the calibration and QC button 206 isidentified and displayed by colors or the like in the system overviewscreen of FIG. 2, so that the operator can easily recognize that thecalibration and the control measurement are recommended.

However, for example, when the coagulation time unit is masked as shownin FIG. 2(c), it is not necessary to perform the calibration or thecontrol measurement for a coagulation time item. At this time, reagentsof the coagulation time item are consumed wastefully when a collectiverequest is made, and therefore, calibration and control of an item to bemeasured by a masked unit can be set so as not to be recommended.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a calibration recommendation screen of theautomatic analysis device according to the present embodiment. When thereagents are being replaced or the control measurement fails, a displaycolor is changed for each item in a recommendation factor 901 field,thereby displaying recommendations of the calibration to the user.However, when the coagulation time unit is masked in FIG. 2(c), it isnot necessary to perform the calibration for the coagulation time item(an item name thereof in the figure is PT), so that a display color isnot changed even if there is a recommendation factor. For example, therecommended item collective request button 801 of the calibration inFIG. 8 is selected, thereby transitioning screens from the screen ofFIG. 8 to the screen of FIG. 9.

Here, the above-described embodiment shows an example in whichinformation on the measuring unit selected or not selected in the unitnecessity-of-use selection area 209 in the overview display region 202is made to correspond to a display in the work flow display region 201or a display on a screen transitioned from each button in the work flowdisplay region 201. It should be noted that it is also possible to adopta configuration in which reagent information, calibration, and controlmeasurement for an unused item is also not recommended when the userindividually performs masking for each item. Further, in theabove-described embodiment, it is possible to select whether to reflectdisplay setting during the unit masking on the screens such as themaintenance screen (FIG. 3), the display setting screen during the unitmasking (FIG. 4), the reagent disk overview screen (FIG. 6), and thecalibration recommendation screen (FIG. 9). It should be noted that itis also possible to reflect display setting of a unit masking screenwithout selecting the display setting during the unit masking (without amode that displays all information regardless of setting of the unitmasking).

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, andincludes various modifications. For example, the embodiment describedabove has been described in detail for easy understanding of theinvention, and is not necessarily limited to those having all theconfigurations described above. A part of the configuration of oneembodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment,and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to theconfiguration of one embodiment. Apart of the configuration of eachembodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with anotherconfiguration.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

-   1 automatic analysis device-   10 reaction disk-   10 a, 10 b, 10 c dispensing (discharging) position-   11 reaction cell-   12 thermostatic tank-   20 sample disk (specimen disk)-   20 a dispensing (suctioning) position-   21 sample container-   22 sample dispensing mechanism-   23 sample barcode reading device (sample barcode reader)-   24 sample identifier-   30 reagent disk-   30-1 first reagent disk-   30-2 second reagent disk-   30-1 a, 30-2 a dispensing (suctioning) position-   31 reagent bottle-   31-1 first reagent bottle-   31-2 second reagent bottle-   32 reagent barcode reading device (reagent barcode reader)-   32-1 first reagent barcode reading device-   32-2 second reagent barcode reading device-   33 reagent dispensing mechanism-   34 reaction cell washing mechanism-   40 absorption photometer-   41 light source (for absorption photometer)-   45 light-scattering photometer-   46 light source (for light-scattering photometer)-   50 coagulation time detection unit-   51 measuring channel-   52 reaction container (disposable reaction container)-   53 reaction container accommodation unit-   54 sample dispensing station-   55 reaction container transfer mechanism-   56 reagent dispensing mechanism with temperature raising function-   57 reaction container discarding unit-   60 ISE unit-   61 ISE dilution tank-   62 Na electrode-   63 K electrode-   64 Cl electrode-   65 reference electrode-   70 computer-   71 interface-   72 A/D converter (for absorption photometer)-   73 A/D converter (for light-scattering photometer)-   74 A/D converter (for coagulation time unit)-   75 A/D converter (for ISE unit)-   76 control computer-   77 memory-   78 operation screen-   79 keyboard

The invention claimed is:
 1. An automatic analysis device, comprising: asample disk configured to hold a sample container that is configured toaccommodate a sample; a reagent disk configured to hold a plurality ofreagent containers each configured to accommodate a reagent; at leasttwo or more different measuring units configured to respectively performdifferent types of analyses; a control part configured to control themeasuring units; and a display part configured to display a work flowarea in which a flow of operation of the two or more measuring units isdisplayed, and an overview area in which usable or unusable states ofthe respective measuring units are displayed, wherein the overview areaincludes a unit necessity-of-use selection part that allows selecting ofnecessity-of-use of each of the measuring units, and the control part isconfigured to control the display part to change a display of the workflow area on the basis of information set in the unit necessity-of-useselection part, wherein when at least one of the two or more measuringunits is not selected for use in the unit necessity-of-use selectionpart, the control part is configured to control the display part so asnot to reflect operation information on a measurement preparation forthe measuring unit, which is not selected for use, in the display of thework flow area, wherein the work flow area includes at least one buttonfor checking more detailed information on maintenance, a reagent and aconsumable, calibration and control measurement as operation informationon measurement preparations for the measuring units, wherein when abutton for checking more detailed information on the reagent and theconsumable is selected in the work flow area, the control part isconfigured to control the display part to display a reagent overviewscreen indicating information on an arrangement of the reagentcontainers held on the reagent disk, and wherein when the at least oneof the two or more measuring units is not selected for use in the unitnecessity-of-use selection part, the display part is controlled so asnot to display the information on the arrangement of a reagentcontainer, which is present on the reagent disk but is to be used by theat least one of the two or more measuring units that is not selected foruse, on the reagent overview screen.
 2. The automatic analysis deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein when the at least one of the two or moremeasuring units is selected for use in the unit necessity-of-useselection part, the control part is configured to control the displaypart so as to only reflect operation information on a measurementpreparation for the at least one of the two or more measuring units,which is selected for use, in the display of the work flow area.
 3. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein the control partis configured to control the display part to display identificationinformation by a color or a mark on a button on the basis of informationon necessity of a corresponding measurement preparation.
 4. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein the display partis configured to display a setting part that allows setting of whetherto change the display of the work flow area on the basis of theinformation set in the unit necessity-of-use selection part.
 5. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 4, wherein a flow ofoperation of the at least one of the two or more measuring unitsmeasuring units shown in the work flow area includes at least two of:maintenance, a reagent and a consumable, calibration and controlmeasurement, as operation information on measurement preparations forthe measuring units, and the setting part allows setting of whether tochange the display of the work flow area for each or all of the two ormore pieces of operation information on the basis of the information setin the unit necessity-of-use selection part.
 6. The automatic analysisdevice according to claim 1, wherein when the button for checking moredetailed information on the reagent and the consumable is selected inthe work flow area, the control part is configured to control thedisplay part to display a printing screen that allows printing ofinformation on replacement of the reagent container held on the reagentdisk.
 7. The automatic analysis device according to claim 6, whereinwhen the at least one of the two or more measuring units is not selectedfor use in the unit necessity-of-use selection part, the display part iscontrolled so as not to display the information on replacement of thereagent container of the at least one of the two or more measuringunits, which is not selected for use, on the printing screen.
 8. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein when a buttonfor checking more detailed information on the maintenance is selected inthe work flow area, the control part is configured to control thedisplay part to display a maintenance screen that recommends executionfor each maintenance item on the basis of cycle information set inadvance and information on elapsed time since last execution ofmaintenance.
 9. The automatic analysis device according to claim 8,wherein when the at least one of the two or more measuring units is notselected for use in the unit necessity-of-use selection part, thedisplay part is controlled so as not to display information onmaintenance of the at least one of the two or more measuring units,which is not selected for use, on the maintenance screen.
 10. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein when a buttonfor checking more detailed information on the calibration and thecontrol measurement is selected in the work flow area, the control partis configured to control the display part to display a calibration andcontrol screen that recommends execution of the calibration and/orcontrol measurement on the basis of information on an execution state ofthe calibration and on a state of the control measurement.
 11. Theautomatic analysis device according to claim 10, wherein when the atleast one of the two or more measuring units is not selected for use inthe unit necessity-of-use selection part, the display part is controlledso as not to display a recommendation of the calibration and controlmeasurement of the at least one of the two or more measuring units,which is not selected for use, on the calibration and control screen.12. The automatic analysis device according to claim 1, wherein thedisplay part is configured to display the work flow area and theoverview area on the same screen.
 13. An automatic analysis device,comprising: a sample disk configured to hold a sample container that isconfigured to accommodate a sample; a reagent disk configured to hold aplurality of reagent containers, each configured to accommodate areagent; at least two or more different measuring units configured torespectively perform different types of analyses; a control partconfigured to control the measuring units; and a display part configuredto display a work flow area in which a flow of operation of the two ormore measuring units is displayed, and an overview area in which usableor unusable states of the respective measuring units are displayed,wherein the control part is configured to control the display part tochange a display of the work flow area on the basis of information onthe usable or unusable states of the respective measuring unitsdisplayed in the overview area, wherein when at least one of the two ormore measuring units is unusable, the control part is configured tocontrol the display part so as not to reflect operation information on ameasurement preparation of the unusable measuring unit, on the displayof the work flow area, wherein the work flow area includes at least onebutton for checking more detailed information on maintenance, a reagentand a consumable, calibration and control measurement as operationinformation on measurement preparations for the measuring units, whereinwhen a button for checking more detailed information on the reagent andthe consumable is selected in the work flow area, the control part isconfigured to control the display part to display a reagent overviewscreen indicating information on an arrangement of the reagentcontainers held on the reagent disk, and wherein when the at least oneof the two or more measuring units is not selected for use in the unitnecessity-of-use selection part, the display part is controlled so asnot to display the information on the arrangement of a reagentcontainer, which is present on the reagent disk but is to be used by theat least one of the two or more measuring units that is not selected foruse, on the reagent overview screen.
 14. The automatic analysis deviceaccording to claim 13, wherein when the at least one of the two or moremeasuring units is usable, the control part is configured to control thedisplay part to only reflect operation information on a measurementpreparation of the at least one of the two or more measuring units thatis usable, on the display of the work flow area.
 15. An automaticanalysis device, comprising: a sample disk configured to hold a samplecontainer that is configured to accommodate a sample; a reagent diskconfigured to hold a plurality of reagent containers, each configured toaccommodate a reagent; at least two or more different measuring unitsconfigured to respectively perform different types of analyses; acontrol part configured to control the measuring units; and a displaypart configured to display a work flow area in which a flow of operationof the two or more measuring units is displayed, and an overview area inwhich usable or unusable states of the respective measuring units aredisplayed, wherein the sample disk and the reagent disk are used incommon in the two or more measuring units, and the overview areaincludes a unit necessity-of-use selection part that allows selecting ofnecessity-of-use of each of the measuring units on the basis of inputinformation from outside, and when at least one of the two or moremeasuring units is not selected for use in the unit necessity-of-useselection part, the control part is configured to control the displaypart so as not to reflect operation information on a measurementpreparation for the measuring unit, which is not selected for use, inthe display of the work flow area, wherein the work flow area includesat least one button for checking more detailed information onmaintenance, a reagent and a consumable, calibration and controlmeasurement as operation information on measurement preparations for themeasuring units, wherein when a button for checking more detailedinformation on the reagent and the consumable is selected in the workflow area, the control part is configured to control the display part todisplay a reagent overview screen indicating information on anarrangement of the reagent containers held on the reagent disk, andwherein when the at least one of the two or more measuring units is notselected for use in the unit necessity-of-use selection part, thedisplay part is controlled so as not to display the information on thearrangement of a reagent container, which is present on the reagent diskbut is to be used by the at least one of the two or more measuring unitsthat is not selected for use, on the reagent overview screen.